Sub 3h15

Gul had a lie-in this morning, everyone! Then showered, made the lunch, walked the dog and did a recovery run before posting...at 6:45. What time do you go to bed?

4 mile steady run home from work last night @ 7:00mm, knee seems to be all right. Love my Brooks Ghosts!

Sports massage last night: verdict is that left hamstring and calf are a little tight because left glute is a bit of a slacker.  So, back to clams and donkey kicks it is.  Joy.

Really looking forward to the upcoming maras - naming no names, but I hope for one or two significant breakthroughs.
Jools - you sanguine after last week?   Fwiw, my half PB came after being seemingly marooned in a narrow time frame, then taking a decent slice off the time. Keep the faith . What's next? 
DM - very true re the "penguin walk" - the irony for me currently is that I'm walking around perfectly normally, but complaining how unfit I am; will be great to return to fitness and continual soreness!! 

Speedy and Ant - thanks for your comment about the taper.  I only every really followed a marathon training program in 2010 which was from RW and they only had a few short tempo runs in the taper.  When I've just assembled my own training programme it has mostly been 3 weeks of easy running with reducing volume.  So tapering with higher intensity is not what I have experienced before.  I've also lurked on the sub-3 thread and what you say is consistant - keep the intensity just reduce the volume of the easy running.  In fact TR put it nicely when he wrote 'the taper is a taper and not a rest'.

Of course all this faster running has put me out of my comfort zone and legs have got quite sore around my hips because I have had to open my stride length and challenge muscles that are not used to it 

Anyway I'm convinced to stick to the plan and keep the faith.

Yes Jools - after visits with these health professionals I am sometime wondering how I can actually walk upright at all given that such a proportion of my muscles are inactive.

Jools - I've been very slack on core & glute exercises lately. What are Calms and Donkeys?

Gul - been averaging about 40 miles a week with long runs 13 - 15 miles. But then only doing a half marathon this Autumn. Can't wait to tone down the training for November before training starts fro SPinr marathon.

Ant / DM - I try and get early nights, but it doesn't always work out. I'll soon be going to bed before the kids! Early morning works for me; usually feel refreshed and raring to go after a good night's sleep.
Ant - good news on the knee.
Bike It - I've always thought the idea was to reduce the quantity but not the quality of the faster stuff too. So during taper, still do your tempo runs at the same pace but only cover 3/4 or 1/2 the distance say, depending on where you are in the taper.
KR - of course; is it the GER you're racing? I've found another possibility for a local-ish spring HM - Friskney, which is between Boston and Skegness, so about 1hr's drive from home. Have you got a VLM place or do you have another mara in mind for the spring?

Clams: lie on your side with you legs on top of each other and half bent (i.e. thighs and calves at 90 degrees to each other but thighs at 45 degrees compared to straight legs); engage core; raise top leg about 45 degrees.  You should feel this in your hip/glute.

Donkey kicks: lie on your tummy; raise one foot so that calf is perpendicular to the floor; engage glute; raise foot, keeping calf perpendicular to the floor, so that thigh comes off the floor.

Gul Darr wrote (see)

Ant / DM - I try and get early nights, but it doesn't always work out. I'll soon be going to bed before the kids!

I am in bed 2nd out of 6, only my 13 year old son goes to bed earlier than me.

Odd week: I missed a 5 mile recovery run on Monday so 5, 10, 5, 10, 5 become 0, 10, 7, 11, 7 for the same total over 4 days instead of 5 days and I feel very tired. Bumping the recovery from 5 to 7 just makes hte next day a bit harder and it carries over.

Hi all. I'm dipping into this thread as I'm contemplating entering my first marathon next year (May?, MiltonKeynes?), and 3:15 seems like a nice (if a bit scary) target. The question is: what will it take for me to have a good chance of achieving that?

I've just done a half-marathon (Ealing) in 92 mins, right at the fast end of what I was hoping for. This was based off a typical weekly 30 miles, with 10-13 mile LSRs. I can imagine upping my mileage to about 40 per week without any major lifestyle adjustments (!), but more than that is going to be a struggle.  My all time longest ever run is, er, 13.1 miles, so I know I have to work on extending that!

----------------NEGATIVITY ALERT-----------------

5mile solo time trial this lunchtime. I expected to be setting records and set of rather fast at 5:50 pace for the first 800m. Slowed continuosly until I decided to stop at 2.3m.  A 2 minute break and salvaged 6:40s out of the rest of the 5miles.  Training diary now littered with expletives and legs sorer than ever.

Physically the outcome is not so bad.  Mentally though it is not the boost I was looking for as I'm now feeling rather negative about the whole 'numbers chasing' running thing and my running confidence has taken a dip.  Looking forward to just an easy run with no pressure.

Anyway I'll be in Swtzerland this weekend to see my eldest daughter so hopefully my LSR by the Bodensee/Lake Constance might cheer me up.

-------------------- END ------------------------

Do clams work well for you Joolska - mixed reviews of their effectiveness on the web

Bike it - enjoy switzerland and hope the legs settle down quickly.

SJ - Ditto with your foot (and cold)

Got on my bike this week so at least I am starting to do something.

For what its worth I did my fastest half 3 weeks after a marathon but only did a handful of HMP specific runs in between.

In conjunction with other core work, yes, Mennania.  I've never done them without any other core/glute work, however, so they could be a waste of time and it's everything else which is working!

BikeIt: hey, my sh!t run came in a race.  It could be worse...  But to answer KR's question, yeah, I'm pretty phlegmatic about my Bristol half time now. 

*sprays Sloakey with Dettol*

You seem to have the basics Lunchtime runner. Just linger on here and you'll find out all you need to know. You will need a structured plan, and 40 miles will be ok for most of your plan except a few key peak weeks. You may need a faster half to get 3:15 but you can build that in the schedule. If the structured training doesn't get you that you may need to aim lower but as a first mara 3:15 is rather ambitious anyway.

So basically Joolska you have a lazy arse?

26 so far this week and off in the morning for a w/end in the Lakes which should get me to 45. Take care all, especially those with injuries or the lurgy. Good luck to any w/end racers.    

Bike It - I've found that in the build-up to a marathon when your confidence is sky-high, it's easy to attempt something over-ambitious which is doomed to faliure and put a nasty dent in your confidence. This can also happen when you're not feeling so tip-top and you're desperate for some reasurance. Either way, it's easily done but has no real bearing on the true state of your fitness. Remember, you're not training for a 5-mile dash,you're training for something considerably longer and slower, requiring more patience. In a word, forget it, you're in great shape and will be fine.

Slokey - Not great news, but take it easy for a few days and hopefully you'll be feeling better. Keep your head!!

Lunchtime - Welcome aboard. I'd echo what the others have said about your generally being in a good place with your training, while needing to up the mileage, do longer long runs and try and shave a couple of minutes off that HM time. Every week also do some speedwork/reps (do not shy away from these), a faster tempo run and a midweek medium-long run. Good luck!